Hemagglutinating antigen of Toxoplasma gondii was prepared and purified by the method of a slight modification of Tsunematsu, and the preparation of the skin test antigen (toxoplasmin) was made by means of acetone-ether treatment described by Nobute et al.
With these antigens the passive hemagglutionation and skin tests were performed for the diagnosis of swine toxoplasmosis by using artificially infected pigs.
The results obtained were summarized as follows :
1. The hemagglutinating antibody and the skin test antibody were demonstrated one and three weeks after infection, respectively. And these antibodies were maintained over nine weeks after infection.
2. The antigenicity of hemagglutinating antigen was stable when it was kept in frozen state, while was unstable in a liquid state.
3. Freeze-dried skin test antigen (toxoplasmin) was stable for two months or more if it was kept at 5℃ and room temperature, but in the liquid or reconstituted state it was unstable.
4. Freeze-dried skin test antigen could be preserved without loss of antigenicity for more than two months.
5. Passive hemagglutination test could be applied effectively at the early phase of the disease process and skin test at later phase, mainly for epidemiological surge)r. However, by combination. of these methods, the more accurate results could be obtained.
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